Hobbies and Crafts

Have you received your physocarpus yet Vera.Which one have you got. I just checked it out and rather like Lady in Red. Does it grow very big?

Re your orchid. I have several and I have to say they are a bit hit and miss. You are probably not doing anything wrong. Just leave it somewhere that is not too hot. Mine are on a north facing windowsill in the kitchen. I occasionally spray the leaves with Orchid mist. You will hopefully find that it will suddenly send up another stem which will flower. Don't water it too much but give it a small amount of water occasionally. Water from the bottom always.

Our garden is looking very bare now. OH has dug up all his dahlias and gladioli and will put them somewhere to overwinter. He usually puts them in the garage as our boiler is in there. He is just a bout to give the large hardy fuchsia bushed a mild hait cut, not too much as then they are protected from frost and he will also cut back the peoplie. (he has permission to be let loose with the secateurs!)

We already have dutch Iris bulds coming up in pots hopefully they will survive any frost. I have planted up window boxes for outside the lounge with violas and green plants like grasses etc.

Ann, our physocarpus arrived on Thursday morning so we didn't have to wait for it for long. We have got Diable D'Or. I think they grow to between 5 and 6 feet which is about what we want but I believe they can be pruned fairly hard to keep them small. They vary in price depending on how big a plant you want to start with. We wanted a reasonable amount of growth so paid £35 for a 10 litre pot. I haven't measured it but it looks to be 2.5 to 3 feet tall.

Re. my orchid: I had it in the hall in line with the glass in the front door but wondered if it wasn't getting enough light so I moved it into our lounge. The temperature is constant in there as our underfloor heating is on 24 hours a day. It's getting more light but is not right up against the window. It looks happy and healthy but is just not flowering. I think I'll just plod on and see how it goes.

We still haven’t finished tidying up the garden for winter yet. It’s just so wet everywhere and when I do have a bit of free time it’s pouring with rain again. We’ve got some sarcococca plants to put in some troughs alongside our garage but haven’t been able to do it yet. I think they will be OK in their pots for a while. Is anyone else managing to get any gardening done?

We are more or less tidy, OH did put up one piece of trellis Sunday but otherwise it is just too wet.

My garden is looking neglected, as my free time also coincides with wet, wild or windy days, - or a combination of all three !

Walking locally, I noticed in nearby gardens, that a magnolia bush has strong leaf buds on it and in another there were deep purple violets in flower.
I must check the pussy willow on the school grounds. That sometimes has it's furry buds before Christmas.

Signs of better days ahead.

We do have a couple od yellow primulas in flower and, of course the winter flowering jasmine. Other than that it is very bare, roll on spring!! :-D :-D

An a Happy Christmas to all on this thread. :-) :-) <3 <3

I saw the first of the season's narcissus in bloom today. Just one stem, about 10 inches tall with many heads of white star-shaped flowers. In the same garden, a large clump of similar flower buds are about to open.
In the school grounds, the pussy willow has many furry buds.

There are still roses and marigolds out in several gardens locally. We generally don't have the worst of the weather in this far south-east corner.

That narcissus seems very early Gwyn but I suppose it was quite mild and maybe it was in a sheltered spot.

I have noticed a few daffs just showing an inch or two above ground in a garden bed, though none of the little iris, daffs or tulips that I planted up in pots are showing yet. The hellebores are looking good. They are not in full flower yet but have lots of big fat buds on the point of opening.

Gwyn your area often has early plants in flower. Helebores are starting to look promising and we have Dutch iris bulbs up in pots and crocus too.

Two lots of white hellebores are opening up in the garden but the dark red one has lots of fat buds but hasn’t opened yet. Some of the little iris I planted in pots are showing through but none of the potted daffs or tulips are showing yet. Quite a lot of winter aconite are in bloom and they are such a lovely golden colour that they always make me smile and make even a grey day look a bit springlike.

I was looking at our Helebores today just a couple in flower and two daffy in bud as well makes it feel as if spring is not too far away.

We actually have snowdrops in bud in the garden now and quite a few Helebores, haven't been down the garden, it is so wet but I can see a couple of daffodils in flower, the same ones are early every year.

Isn't it great when the gardens show signs of Spring?

Not much in mine in flower apart from self-seeded marigolds, which seem to do their own thing and flower whatever the month.
Walking local today, I looked at other gardens nearby. There are many houses with really tall daffodil leaves and a few buds opening too. Also saw mauve crocus, narcissus,primroses, pansies, polyanthus, wallflowers, hebe and some new rosebuds

It's been a bleak day here, so it was cheering to see these seasonal changes.

Yes Gwyn, I love it when the spring flowers start to emerge. We have quite a few crocus with tiny buds just showing, plus daffs in bud as well as the three in flower then there are the Helebores in full flower in sheltered spots and many also in bud. A hard frost could stop them all in their tracks.

We went to a garden centre for coffee this morning and they had (under cover but open at the end) lots of primula plants plus, in pots, bluebell bulbs, snowdrops, primulas and primroses, lots of beautiful Helebores (£12.99 each!!), and also rows of herbs in pots. I am sure the herbs are not frost proof so hope people keep them under cover if they buy them. The perfume from the primulas was lovely.

Treating Photinia leaf spot disease
Protecting photinia from leaf spot
• Anti-fungal spray such as Bordeaux mixture is one of the best ways to prevent Photinia from falling sick.
• It’s also possible to prepare your own natural fungicide from weeds and plants that might grow in your garden.
• Spray at the end of winter or at the very beginning of spring.
• Don’t spray if temperatures are below freezing.
• Rake up or collect any leaves that are infected instead of leaving them near the shrub. Destroy them either by burning them or thorough composting.
Since the fungus spreads through splashing water from shrub to shrub, you can prevent photinia leaf spot if you :
• Plant different varieties near each other in a mixed hedge, instead of only planting Photinia.
• Alternate Photinia with other evergreen hedge shrubs
• Prune your photinia as a standalone into a tree shape, to avoid low-lying leaves.
• Water only near the ground, without splashing the leaves.
• Avoid pruning in summer, because this would trigger new growth that the fungus will quickly colonize
How to treat photinia leaf spot
Once leaf spot disease has appeared:
• You should pick all infected leaves by pruning them out.
• Diligently disinfect your pruning shears, scissors or secateur with methylated spirits or alcohol between cuts.
• Spray at two week intervals, preferably just after a rain or shower.
• Spray again with Bordeaux mix in fall
What causes Photinia leaf spot?
A fungus called Entomosporium maculatum is what causes leaf spot on photinia. It is a microscopic fungus that overwinters on twigs and leaves that have fallen on the ground.
Symptoms of Photinia Entomosporium leaf spot
• It starts off by creating spots of light swelling on leaves and then the color changes to brown and dark red, and ultimately to black or gray.
• Young leaves and growth are the most affected.
• In severe cases, spots grow until the entire leaf is weakened and falls off. Sometimes this happens before the leaf is even fully mature (still red).
• First signs of infection appear near the ground on the lower levels of the tree.
• Usually only leaves are affected, but sometimes buds and green shoots show signs of infection, too.
• If untreated and conditions are suitable to the fungus, the photinia may die.
What conditions trigger photinia leaf spot?
• Moisture, as for all fungus, is the main driver for photinia leaf spot.
• Cool temperatures speed the spread of the disease (but it’s dormant when freezing).
• Growing photinia close together also makes the fungus spread quickly.
• Water splashing spreads the fungus spores (like seeds) from leaf to leaf.
• Branches and leafage that hover near the ground are particularly prone to leaf spot, such as in hedges.
From all the photinia species, one of the most vulnerable varieties is the “Red tip” Photinia x Fraseri.
Entomosporium leaf spot is usually harmless in most climates, especially where summers are hot and dry. However, in moist climates with very wet spring and fall seasons, it may prove fatal to your photinia hedge.
Photinia leaf spot spread and contamination
Photinia is a wonderful hedge shrub and it’s often grown as a hedge. When leaf spot appears, it’s time to check for alternatives that may also bring joy without the hassle of dealing with the disease.
Can Photinia leaf spot spread to other trees and shrubs?
This particular strand of leaf spot, Entomosporium, can directly infect other members of the Rosaceae family such as:
• Apple tree
• Pear tree
• Quince (including ornamental Maule’s quince)
• Amelanchier
• Cotoneaster
• Pyracanthus (firethorn)
• Hawthorn
What shrubs similar to Photinia resist leaf spot?
A favorite shrub that resists leaf spot is holly, as does its North-American endemic variant yaupon.
Beautiful flowering alternatives include Escallonia, Mock-orange, Weigela, Camellia and a host of other flowering-bearing hedge shrubs.
With unremarkable flowers but beautiful silvery leaves, silverberry also fills the spot… without leaf spots!
Spotted laurel is also beautiful, with built-in yellow spots on its evergreen leaves that don’t endanger the plant as a fungus would.
• Read also: Black spot disease in shrubs and garden trees
• How to grow photinia

I’m sure Gill will find that useful Ann. The item suggests Bordeaux Mixture. I don’t think it is available anymore. I know it was withdrawn from sale in 2014 and I don’t think we got it back. I used to use it for peach leaf curl when we had a peach tree in our old house.

Gill, you could try ringing a good garden centre and asking if they have a fungicide that will do the same job as Bordeaux Mixture.

Thanks Vera, I didn't know it had been taken off the market.

Thanks for all the advice Ann and Vera, the two plants are around 12 foot tall so will take quite a bit to clear the problem but at least something can be done. All the garden centres said to me was they don't like being in the pots. I have noticed the same thing is happening to all my Red Robin's, the one behind the water feature is beyond help so that will need to be replaced with something else now. I wouldn't mind but these plants, given the sizes weren't cheap and now I'm wondering if the fungus was on them when we bought them and we just didn't notice until now.

Beautiful camilias and pretty japonica flowering in nearby gardens and so many daffodils and crocus about too.

I hope predicted Storm Dennis doesn't give them too much of a battering.

I still have to sort out a pyracantha which keeled over in the last storm here. I've trimmed it back to make it more manageable, but need another pair of hands to renew the support it needs.

That will be a prickly job you have there Gwyn. Yes all the daffy and crocus look lovely.